every time i die

Best of 2021: Buke and David Stepanavicius of Atræ Bilis share their favorites and more!

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Best of 2021

David Stepanavicius of Atræ Bilis is no stranger to the podcast as he and Buke discussed Apexapien at length back in November and it was such an electric discussion that Buke reached back out to have David on again to discuss all things Best of 2021. The two catch up a bit since last time then launch into their biggest disappointments of 2021, their Honorable Mentions, and their collective Top 10. They also discuss Best of lists in general and how an artist / band views list season, how music usually finds David and how much labels play a part in it, whether Chris Barnes or memes are better, upcoming things for Atræ Bilis, and so much more. You’ll definitely want to keep a pen and paper handy as they cover a ton of great albums, forty in total. No surprise here at all, this is an excellent discussion! 

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Nine Circles ov…What Didn’t Make My 2021 End of Year List…(But Could Have)

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  • alda - a distant fire
  • hænesy - garabontzia

It starts like it does every other year, with me desperately trying to whittle down the list of incredible albums I listened to into a manageable number. Well, maybe not so manageable; I know I’m known around these parts as the guy whose lists are waaaaay too long. But there’s so much out there, so many albums that impact me in large and small ways. Maybe it’s a riff, or a chorus, or a certain vocal line. It doesn’t matter; I just know I want to acknowledge it in some way and pass it on. Maybe it will impact you, too.

You’d think a list of 40 albums – my “official” Top 25 ranked list and an Honorable Mention list of 15 other albums in alphabetical order would be enough (it is for Decibel). But it never is. So for the past few years I’ve tacked on an additional nine albums that may not have made my lists for various reasons, but I still love and want to put on your radar. It’s never too late too discover something. Time may move ever forward, but these great records will forever be here for you to discover. Forget labels. Forget hype and marketing. Take a look (better yet, take a listen) to this edition of Nine Circles ov… and see what didn’t make my list for 2021…but maybe should have.

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The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 206 (11.20.2021)

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playlist - mixtape

That’s it: we’re officially in End of Year™ territory now. The big guns are coming out, as Decibel Magazine preemptively shared their Top 40 of 2021 prior to publication in the vain hopes of staving off blogs who simply post the list for views. I’d rather give them the props and the views, so head over there to check it out. In the meantime I’m on my fifth listen of the new Stormkeep and debating how high to have it on my own list. Because yeah…it’s gonna be there.

But enough of that. Welcome to Volume 206 of the Nine Circles Playlist, where we may or may not have some music that will appear on own own lists. In addition to our fearless editor Josh priming the pump with Stormkeep he’s heavily digging the latest from Hypocrisy and Sanguisugabogg. Angela has fallen hard for the hardcore punk coming from Fucked Up and the murky psychedelic cosmic stoner sounds of Tortuga. Buke never fails to bring the classic heavy to the list, so buckle up for some new retro courtesy of Haunt and Traveler as well as old school flavor from Judas Priest. Jon emerges from the snowy depths of the Great North to champion new stuff from Archspire and Every Time I Die. Vincent wallows in the despair of heavier fare from Emma Ruth Rundle, Lantlôs, and Dream Unending. As for me? I’m sitting here in the CLOUDS with Enslaved, digging the skramz of Warren of Ohms, and am in hook line and sinker with Josh about the new single from outlaw country bastard Paul Cauthen.

Country as Fuck, folks. No better way to close out the playlist this week. See you next time!

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 203 (10.30.2021)

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playlist - mixtape

I’m not sure where you all are, but here in New York it finally feels like Autumn…right on the porch knocking at the door of All Hallow’s Eve. It’s the time of frights, of golds and browns and dark and whispers. So I can’t think of a better way to kick off the two hundred and third Nine Circles playlist than with a little Samhain to get you all in the mood. And since more than a few of the staff are completely head over heels for the new Mastodon, we threw a doozy of a late track in here for you, too.

Elsewhere we got you covered no matter your tastes: Josh comes in hot with some classic Fastway and one of my favorites for the year, Green Lung. Zyklonius is gushing over the new tech metal from Allegaeon, while Vincent throws some delicious curveballs with toe and his beloved Mountain Goats. We’re not quite back to the extreme, as our Northern Brother Jon dips into his first tastes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, but tempers it with some mewithoutyou. The Man with the Mic himself Buke goes old and new school with Manowar and Monolord, while Ian goes crazy for Archspire and Angela digs into the new Ghost Bath and closes us out with a bonafide classic from Siouxsie and the Banshees. And that’s only the tip of iceberg of what’s in store, so buckle up, grab your mask, and hit play below. We’ll see you next week.

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– Chris

The Nine Circles Playlist Vol. 200 (10.9.2021)

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playlist - mixtape

Wow, two hundred of these things, huh? It may be a little early to break out the whiskey in celebration, but confetti and streamers should do nicely. Or maybe just more curated tunes instead. This time, we’ve got two generations of post-hardcore colliding on the new Seeyouspacecowboy… song, a classic Bloodbath jam from what is (IMHO) one of the more underrated Bloodbath releases, Marissa Nadler covering Metallica, and much more. Thanks for sticking with us.

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– Vincent